The Story Behind Every NBA Team’s Name

When Vancouver got its expansion team in 1994, they were originally going to be called the Mounties. Both the fans and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected, so the owners decided to go with Grizzlies, a species native to the region. Even though the name stopped making sense after the move to Memphis, the NBA rejected a $120 million offer from FedEx, the owner of their new home court, to rename the team to Express.